The 2009 founding date, founder, and corporate association are reported by the Chinese beauty-industry database Pinguan; another source gives a 2011 date, illustrating that publicly available secondary sources do not completely agree on the brand’s founding or registration history [1][3].

2009–2010s: Establishment and early development

UKISS is reported to have originated in 2009. Its Chinese name, 悠珂思, became associated with a colourful, youth-oriented cosmetics concept. The brand’s stated positioning was aimed at younger consumers and focused on bringing a broad range of colours and cosmetic effects to the mass market [1].

During its development in China, UKISS expanded beyond basic makeup into a broader beauty portfolio, including lipsticks, eyeliners, eyeshadows, mascara-related products, cleansing products, makeup tools, and skincare [1].

2015: E-commerce expansion

According to the brand’s published history, UKISS launched its Tmall flagship store in 2015, an important step in developing an omnichannel retail presence in China [1].

2018–2019: Increasing recognition

UKISS received recognition in Chinese beauty-industry and social-media awards during this period. Industry sources report that in 2018 it received awards including Weibo Beauty V Award recognition for a top domestic cosmetics brand and an eyeliner category award. The brand also gained exposure through recommendations from Chinese internet personalities and celebrities [1].

In 2019, the company reports that UKISS received additional awards from fashion and beauty media and for individual products [1].

2020: International expansion

The brand’s own historical material identifies 2020 as an important internationalisation period. UKISS entered the Japanese offline market, describing this period as the beginning of a broader global expansion. It also received recognition from Chinese cosmetics-industry publications [1].

Japanese beauty retailer and review database @cosme currently lists UKISS products under Nanjing Jiayeon Brand Management Co., Ltd., including lip products, blush, eyeliner, cleansing balm, and other categories [2].

2021–2024: Collaborations and social initiatives

UKISS increasingly used IP collaborations and limited-edition collections as part of its marketing strategy. Its published timeline includes collaborations such as:

• UKISS × Animal Restaurant — Animal Party series
• UKISS × Hua A Li — Little Red Flower series
• UKISS × ELEVEN — romantic-themed collaboration
• UKISS × TAKITAKI — several themed collections
• UKISS × ANITA — Catwoman Agent series

The company also reported a GMV exceeding RMB 300 million in 2021 [1].

Alongside commercial campaigns, UKISS has participated in social initiatives concerning women’s health, girls’ development, and charitable causes, including its “Menstrual Safety Action” campaign and subsequent collaborations with charitable organisations [1].

UKISS’s portfolio has historically centred on colour cosmetics, although the brand has expanded into adjacent beauty categories.

Eye makeup

Eye products have been particularly important to UKISS’s identity. Products associated with the brand include:

• Liquid eyeliner
• Eyebrow products
• Mascara
• Mascara primers
• Eyelash tools
• Eyeshadow

One of the brand’s historically prominent products was the “灵眸娃娃眼线液笔” (often translated along the lines of Doll-Eye Liquid Eyeliner). Industry sources have also highlighted the brand’s mascara primer and base products [1].

Lip makeup

UKISS has produced a variety of lip products, including:

• Matte lipsticks
• Lip tints
• Lip balms and care products
• Gloss or glossy lip products

Examples include the Midnight Velvet Matte Lip and Neon Stars Lip Tint. Japanese beauty database @cosme lists the Midnight Velvet Matte Lip in multiple shades and the Neon Stars Lip Tint in shades such as Black Tea, Strawberry Jam, Pink Grapefruit, and Carrot Juice [1][2].

Face makeup

The brand’s complexion range has included:

• Blush
• Highlighter
• Pressed powder
• Contouring products
• Makeup-setting products

Its Diamond Highlight, for example, is currently listed by @cosme as a UKISS product, while industry sources have historically identified UKISS contouring and complexion products among its notable offerings [1][2].

Cleansing and skincare

Although UKISS is best known as a makeup brand, its product portfolio has also extended into skincare and makeup-removal products. Historical product listings include:

• Cleansing balms
• Makeup removers
• Facial and skincare products
• Lip-care products

Japanese listings currently include Peach Cleansing Balm and Grapefruit Cleansing Balm, for example [2].

Beauty tools

UKISS has also marketed accessories and tools used in makeup application, expanding the brand beyond cosmetics themselves. Industry sources specifically mention makeup tools as part of the broader portfolio [1].

UKISS has traditionally occupied the mass-market and affordable cosmetics segment rather than the luxury beauty market. Its positioning can be summarised as youthful, colourful, trend-driven, affordable, and easy to use.

The brand’s historical target of approximately 16–26-year-old consumers helps explain its emphasis on playful packaging, strong colour variety, social-media marketing, collaborations, and relatively accessible pricing [1]. This also places UKISS within the broader development of China’s domestic cosmetics (“国货”) sector, in which local brands increasingly compete through rapid product development, e-commerce, influencer marketing, IP collaborations, and affordable pricing.

A distinctive aspect of UKISS’s strategy has been its use of cross-industry collaborations. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional beauty advertising, the brand has collaborated with entertainment, illustration, lifestyle, and character/IP properties. Its 2021–2022 campaigns included Animal Restaurant, TAKITAKI, and ANITA-related collaborations [1].

This approach allows individual collections to adopt different visual identities while maintaining the UKISS brand. It also fits the preferences of younger consumers, for whom makeup can function not only as a beauty product but also as a form of self-expression, fashion, and pop-cultural participation.

UKISS began expanding outside mainland China during the 2020 period according to its own brand history, with Japan specifically identified as an early overseas offline market [1].

Its presence in Japanese beauty databases demonstrates that the brand has marketed products there, although the scale of its international business is not as comprehensively documented in publicly available sources as its Chinese operations. @cosme currently lists UKISS products across several makeup and cleansing categories [2].

Some products historically associated with UKISS include:

• 灵眸娃娃眼线液笔 — liquid eyeliner
• 午夜迷魅丝绒哑光唇膏 — Midnight Velvet Matte Lip
• 午后果茶轻釉唇膏 — Afternoon Fruit-Tea Glossy/Glazed Lip product
• 雪沙净柔卸妆霜 — cleansing/removal product
• 绮梦幻色丝柔眼影 — colourful soft eyeshadow
• 雪樱花粉扑清洗液 — makeup-puff cleanser
• 猫盒子戏法立体多色修容粉 — multi-colour contour product

These products are identified in Chinese beauty-industry listings as examples of the brand’s notable products rather than necessarily representing its current complete catalogue [1].

UKISS’s identity is strongly connected with colour and youthful experimentation. Its Chinese industry profile describes the brand concept in terms of creating a colourful “world of colour” and bringing the colours of nature into cosmetics [1].

In practical terms, this translates into a brand aesthetic that tends to favour:

• Playful and youthful packaging
• Colour-focused makeup
• Trend-responsive product launches
• Affordable prices
• Limited-edition collaborations
• Products designed for everyday experimentation
• Strong e-commerce and social-media orientation

Publicly available Chinese industry information associates UKISS with Nanjing Xiayue Trading Co., Ltd. (南京夏悦贸易有限公司). A corporate and brand directory gives the company’s establishment date as June 23, 2009, and lists its location in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China [3].

There is, however, some inconsistency among online databases regarding UKISS’s corporate ownership and founding date. For example, certain directories attribute the brand to other Nanjing-based companies and give a 2011 founding date. Therefore, 2009 and Nanjing Xiayue Trading Co., Ltd. is the better-supported version in the specialist beauty-industry source, but should not be treated as independently verified corporate-history data without access to official Chinese registration records [1][3].

UKISS has received recognition within China’s beauty and cosmetics media ecosystem. Its reported achievements include:

• Recognition among top domestic cosmetics brands in a 2018 Weibo Beauty V Award context
• Recognition for an eyeliner product
• Various product and brand awards reported during 2019–2020
• Recognition associated with its mascara-primer category performance [1]

These awards should be understood as industry and media awards, rather than equivalent to formal regulatory or scientific certifications.

UKISS represents a generation of Chinese domestic cosmetics brands that grew alongside China’s e-commerce and social-media beauty economy. Its development illustrates several important trends in the Chinese beauty industry:

1. E-commerce-first growth — particularly through platforms such as Tmall.
2. Youth-oriented positioning — targeting younger consumers with accessible prices and colourful products.
3. Rapid product innovation — frequently introducing new shades, formats, and collections.
4. IP collaboration — using characters, artists, and lifestyle brands to generate limited-edition products.
5. Domestic-brand recognition — moving from a relatively small local cosmetics label toward recognition within China’s broader “国货” cosmetics market.
6. Internationalisation — beginning to establish overseas distribution, with Japan identified as an early international market [1].

UKISS (悠珂思) is a Chinese youth-oriented cosmetics brand founded around 2009, best known for affordable and colourful makeup—particularly eye and lip products—and for its e-commerce-driven growth, IP collaborations, and expansion into overseas markets [1].

Note: UKISS should not be confused with the similarly named U-KISS, the South Korean boy group, or with other cosmetics businesses using “UKISS” or “uKiss” as a name. The profile above refers specifically to UKISS 悠珂思, the Chinese beauty brand.

1. UKISS-产品列表-品观网
2. ukissのおすすめ最新情報｜美容・化粧品情報はアットコスメ
3. 悠珂思Ukiss品牌介绍-悠珂思化妆品_国产化妆品-买购APP